Останови машину перед мостом.

the car

Breakdown of Останови машину перед мостом.

• перед: before
• мост: the bridge
• остановить: to stop

Questions & Answers about Останови машину перед мостом.

Why is останови used here instead of остановить?

Останови is the imperative form, used for giving a command to one person informally.

• остановить = to stop (dictionary form / infinitive)
• останови = stop!

So in this sentence, Останови машину перед мостом. means a direct command: Stop the car before the bridge.

This imperative comes from the perfective verb остановить, which is very natural when telling someone to complete a single action.

Why is машину ending in -у instead of машина?

Because машину is in the accusative case, which is used for the direct object of the verb.

Here, the thing being stopped is the car, so машина changes form:

• nominative: машина = car
• accusative: машину = car as the object of the action

This is a very common pattern for feminine nouns ending in -а:

• книга → книгу
• мама → маму
• машина → машину

Why is it перед мостом and not перед мост?